Not sure why AMEX charge card will help you any more than any other card. If you mean AMEX for backdating, any AMEX will do including their revolvers. Aside from any backdate, any card will help you over time. I like AMEX charge cards as they can be used to manage utilization. However, I thought your goal was to maximize your rewards. Aside from BCP, there are better rewards cards out there currently.
LIMITS IN CARD DESCRIPTIONS
@navigatethis12 wrote:
@Revelate wrote:Crash: Isn't the 2% CB on everything from Fidelity? FIA is the card issuer for BOFA's cards at least and maybe others, thought they were completely seperate?
Fidelity is just the name attached to it. FIA is who approves, provides customer service, and gives the rewards. I think it is a great choice to have since it is 2% everywhere instead of on silly categories. Even if they do reduce the limit on another card I would do it. The Bank of Trash rewards card is not that great in my opinion.
The American Express Everyday is also a good choice for groceries at 3% and 2% at department stores and gas stations.
The US Bank card looks like a good choice but it seems to me it will not last that long. 5% at such popular categories and a $25 bonus for each $100 redeemed as a gift card is just setting them up to lose money.
Thanks (and to Crash) for the FIA vs. Fidelity explanation.
So it's 5.25% effectively in those categories, not necessarily an unsurmountable difference. My only question looking at that card is the high rewards bracket in those popular categories, but also the $0 AF. It really is an astonishingly good card, and when you compare that vs. the signup bonuses other cards offer it just might work out.
FICO won't treat charge cards any differently aside from the newer FICO scoring models not including any balance in utilization calculations. As for manual review, I doubt a charge card really means anything. You should just as much control of finances by PIFing every month. In fact, IMHO, a credit card PIFed shows better control of finances than a charge card as the charge card forces you to PIF. There was an old rumor that FICO scores liked diversity in types of cards (credit cards and charge cards, etc), but that has pretty much been disproven. The AMEX charge card is however still useful for managing utilization as its balance isn't figured into most FICO scoring models.
Newer FICO scoring models (Fico 04/Fico 08) ignore AMEX charge card balances in utilization calculations as term is listed as 1 month. The AMEX charge card will still get a ding against utilization portion of FICO for having a balance, but the balance itself will not be included in the utilization percentage part of FICO caculations. With older FICO scoring models (FICO 98), AMEX charge card balances are used in utilization calculations with high balance used as credit limit.
Oi, Crash types faster than I do. Whacked post.
@Revelate wrote:Oi, Crash types faster than I do. Whacked post.
Not on the ipad. Going to have a hard time beating my typing skillz